Dear John

Activists have called for the disability minister to resign, after an “awful” meeting where he took no interest in what they had to say.

Stef, Sydnie and Mary, three disabled women working with our ‘Speaking Truth to Power’ programme, met Stephen Timms MP earlier this month. The meeting was part of the Government’s professed consultation on huge cuts to Britain’s social security system, which will sweep millions of disabled people into deeper poverty.

The minister showed no interest in the evidence we brought, asked no questions, and scarcely engaged with what the group had to say. When one of the women passed out at the end of the meeting, Mr Timms walked out without even checking whether she was OK, and the Zoom link to her friend who could have given medical advice was disconnected.

Mary Passeri said afterwards: “There was no care, understanding or basic empathy for the group he is supposed to represent.”

Sydnie Corley said: “There was no engagement, no questions asked of our situation, he did not listen. He talked straight away about needing to save money, even though we pointed out it’s breaking equality legislation.”

Stef Benstead commented: “We were surprised that Timms argued that PIP needs to be cut because it’s ‘unsustainable’ – which in essence means that sick and disabled people are an unsustainable burden on the country.”

Earlier in the year, more than 300 Church Action on Poverty supporters endorsed Mary, Stef and Sydnie’s message by contacting their MPs and calling on them to oppose the immoral cuts. We are now writing to Sir Timms, expressing disappointment with how the meeting unfolded, and including a briefing paper the group had prepared. We will continue to speak out, and call on all churches and Christians to join us.